Telephone Number Identification (TNI)

MaxMind

MaxMind is not able to determine the phone type.
This could potentially be a VoIP phone, so there
is some risk involved with this type of phone number.

1

Fixed Line

Low

Allow

Fixed-line phones include traditional land-line phones
and VoIP phones that can be traced back to a particular
address and cannot be obtained by a user in another
country. Because these phone numbers are traceable,
they are low-risk.

2

Mobile

Low-Medium

Allow

Mobile telephones are provided by companies such as Verizon,
Cingular, or Sprint. Users of these phones must sign
contracts, making these telephone numbers traceable.
These phone numbers are generally low-risk.
However, some prepaid mobile phones will be identified
as Mobile.

3

PrePaid Mobile

Medium-High

Flag

These telephones can be purchased anonymously at many department stores.
They work like other mobile phones, but their users are not contracted
with a mobile phone company. Prepaid mobile phones generally cost
between $60 and $100, making them unattractive for most fraudsters,
but we still recommend flagging transactions made with this type of
telephone due to a user's anonymity. Also, not all prepaid mobile
phones will be identified as prepaid; some will be identified as Mobile.

4

Toll-Free

High

Block

Toll-Free numbers are numbers starting with toll-free area codes,
such as (800) numbers. Although sometimes used by legitimate
users calling from companies, fraudsters can easily obtain
toll-free numbers that either forward to their telephone
which is located in another country or toll-free numbers
that terminate at an Internet voicemail box. Toll-free
numbers always forward to non-toll-free numbers.
For this reason, any legitimate user who provides a
toll-free number and is asked to provide a non-toll-free
number will be able to do so. We therefore recommend blocking
users of toll-free numbers.

5

Non-Fixed VoIP

High

Block

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone numbers are Internet-based
telephone numbers. US-based, non-fixed VoIP telephone numbers
can easily be obtained by users in other countries.
They are untraceable and disposable; some can even be obtained
for free. This means that a fraudster in Romania could easily
obtain a US-based telephone number using a non-fixed
VoIP service and receive a call to this number
in his/her home in Romania.

6

Pager

High

Block

This phone number rings to a pager. Because
pagers cannot receive verification calls, it's
best to block calls to these numbers. These
calls are most likely requested by fraudsters
who are inputting invalid phone numbers.

7

Payphone

High

Block

Calls to a payphone cannot be traced back to
any one person; therefore, we recommend
blocking verification calls to these numbers.

8

Invalid Number

High

Block

The telephone number entered is not a valid number.

9

Restricted Number

High

Block

The telephone number entered is a restricted number.
Restricted numbers include numbers that begin with 0
and numbers with the following area codes:
900,
911,
411.

10

Personal

Medium-Low

Allow

A "Personal" phone number is a phone number
which allows a Subscriber to receive calls at
almost any telephone number, including a
mobile number. The "Personal" number
forwards to another phone number, which is
determined by the subscriber. Because the
"Personal" number can forward to either a
landline or mobile number, it's impossible to
determine what type of phone the subscriber is
using. However, because "Personal" phone
numbers must be obtained from a phone
company, there is little risk of fraud associated
with this phone type.

11

Voicemail

Medium-High

Block

Voicemail phone numbers will ring directly to a
user's voicemail. Although this phone number
was likely purchased through a phone
company and may be traceable, it will be
impossible to reach the user live at this phone
number. In addition, any user providing a
Voicemail number should also have a valid
landline or mobile phone available. Therefore,
we recommend blocking this type of phone.

20

Other

Medium-High

Block

Phone numbers labeled "Other" are all various
types of phones that originate in non-US
countries. The following types of phones may
be included under the "Other" category:

Global title address

Inbound routing code

Videotext

VPN

Because clients should not be requesting calls
to these phone types, we recommend blocking
verification calls to these numbers. Any phone
number entered that falls under the "Other"
category was probably either entered
incorrectly or was entered by a fraudster
testing various phone numbers.